Hammerfall
HammerFall is a Swedish Heavy Metal band from the town of Göteborg. Early Days HammerFall was originally created by Oscar Dronjak in 1993 as a side project due to his dedication to Death Metal band Ceremonial Oath. After he quit Ceremonial Oath, he began working on HammerFall with his friends, rehearsing the first song Oscar had written in 4 years, Steel Meets Steel. Soon after that, he joined another Death Metal band called Crystal Age. But soon, after their first album was released, the band broke apart and Oscar returned to HammerFall. Oscar then invited Jesper Strömblad from the Melodic Death Metal band In Flames to play drums for HammerFall. Jesper and Oscar were soon joined by guitarist Niklas Sundin of Dark Tranquility, bassist Johan Larsson of In Flames, and vocalist Mikael Stanne also of Dark Tranquility. The year after, Niklas and Johan left HammerFall, to be replaced by guitarist Glenn Ljungström of In Flames and bassist Fredrik Larsson of the Death Metal band Dispatched. As HammerFall was still a side project for Oscar and Jesper, their concerts were mostly limited to performances in the music concert Rockslaget, covering songs from bands like Pretty Maids, Judas Priest, and Alice Cooper. When HammerFall reached the semi-finals of Rockslaget, the band found out that singer Mikael Stanne wouldn't be able to sing for HammerFall during the concert. So, through mutual friends, the band got in contact with Joacim Cans, and the concert was a success, although sadly HammerFall did not make it to the finals. By the end of the day, Joacim was made an official member of HammerFall. Glory to the Brave To try and gain popularity, HammerFall performed a small live performance that was recorded and sent to Dutch label, Vic Records. They got a deal, and the band spent the next year writing the album Glory to the Brave. The album was initially sold in the Netherlands and the band recieved positive feedback. However, since HammerFall was beginning to gain popularity, band members who had other priorities, like Jesper Stromblad and Glenn Ljungstrom who were dedicated to In Flames, and Fredrik Larsson who was dedicated to the thrash metal Beyond. So, HammerFall's line-up underwent several changes, with Patrik Rafling assuming drums and Stefan Elmgren taking the lead guitar. Fredrik remained saying that he would remain until a replacement for him was found. So, in May 1997, Magnus Rosen replaced Fredrik as bassist of HammerFall. Stefan actually got to play the guitar on some of the songs on Glory to the Brave, such as the acoustic guitars for "I Believe". Patrik actually played all the drums on Glory to the Brave, but just as guest performers, not as actual band members. Then in early 1997, German label Nuclear Blast came to HammerFall with a contract which involved four albums. The band accepted the contract and began work on their two first music videos, HammerFall and Glory to the Brave. After the release of a promotional single, Glory to the Brave was released all throughout Europe. The results they received were quite unexpected, even after the intense work by Nuclear Blast. The album reached number 38 on the German Music Chart within its first week of release, a feat that had never before been accomplished by any other heavy metal album. HammerFall later went on several European tours with bands like Gamma Ray, Jag Panzer, Lake of Tears, and Raven. Their biggest concert then however, was the concert at Wacken Open Air to over ten thousand people. By the end of 1997, Glory to the Brave had been released in Japan and the United States, and the sales of the album reached one thousand copies. HammerFall was also nominated for the Swedish Grammy Award under the Best Hard Rock act category. The songs contained in Glory to the Brave are: 1. The Dragon Lies Bleeding 2. The Metal Age 3. HammerFall 4. I Believe 5. Child of the Damned (Warlord cover) 6. Steel Meets Steel 7. Stone Cold 8. Unchained 9. Glory to the Brave 10. Ravenlord (Stormwitch cover) Legacy of Kings In Februrary 1998, the recording of the album Legacy of Kings began. The album was written by Joacim, Oscar, and Jesper. Jesper, though having quit the band, agreed to keep writing in order to keep the mood of their first release. The album was produced by Fredrik Nordstrom of Dream Evil, Oscar, and Joacim. HammerFall spent one and a half months working on recording this album. They also performed in many concerts before the release of Legacy of Kings, playing with bands like Alice Cooper, Rammstein, Deep Purple, Dream Theater, Saxon and Stratovarius. Then, in October 1998, HammerFall left on their first world tour. During some of the shows in Sweden, Joacim caught a serious throat infection, thus making it impossible for him to sing. Soon after that, Magnus caught the disease too, and pretty soon, all of HammerFall became sick. They played for as long as possible, but they had to postpone or cancel some of the dates. Also, during their visit in South America, the band stopped at the Brazilian beaches for a short break, but soon resumed the tour. At the end of the tour, drummer Patrik Rafling left the band, and Anders Johansson, being a friend of Magnus', joined HammerFall as a touring musician. By 1999, Anders was made a permanent member of the band. The songs contained in Legacy of Kings are: 1. Heeding the Call 2. Legacy of Kings 3. Let the Hammer Fall 4. Dreamland 5. Remember Yesterday 6. At the End of the Rainbow 7. Back to Back (Pretty Maids cover) 8. Stronger Than All 9. Warriors of Faith 10. The Fallen One In Russia, there is a bonus track with the following songs: 11. Eternal Dark (Picture cover) 12. Stone Cold (live) 13. I Want Out (Helloween cover) 14. Man On the Silver Mountain (Rainbow cover) 15. The Metal Age (live)